Lincoln Academy

Lincoln Academy, with a proud two hundred plus year tradition of preparing students to meet the intellectual demands of full citizenship, strives continuously to provide a learning environment in which all students can achieve their highest potential.  As an accredited, independent, secondary school with deep roots in the communities of Mid-Coast Maine, Lincoln Academy provides not only a comprehensive academic curriculum but also a diverse blend of co-curricular opportunities.  Our programs undertake to build knowledge, skills, and social values, and to promote high aspirations among all of our students.

Lincoln Academy staff make every effort to recognize and to meet the needs of students as individuals while affirming that education is a collaboration of community, family, and student. As a town academy, Lincoln has the unique advantage of being able to offer students from diverse backgrounds a truly comprehensive education and teach to a variety of different learning styles. International students who study at Lincoln Academy will experience an authentic American high school in a safe, nurturing environment. The majority of our 585 students are day students from Newcastle, Damariscotta, and 16 other towns in the surrounding area. Our boarding program includes 85 students from 19 different countries.

LA has a long history as one of the top high schools in Maine, from its beginnings as a feeder school for Bowdoin College. There are many reasons why students choose Lincoln including our comprehensive program of over 160 courses. Students are well-prepared for life after Lincoln Academy, whether they choose to continue on to one of America’s most respected colleges and universities or enter the workforce. Courses are offered in the areas of English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, World Language, Arts, Technology Education, Physical Education, and Wellness. Students are given the opportunity to take AP/Honors courses, College Preparatory courses and Vocational Courses.Seniors have the option to pursue independent study projects.

LA’s teachers are passionate about their subjects and value each individual student. Most teachers also supervise a club or coach a team. Every teacher leads an advisor group that meets every day and stays with that same group of students for all four years of their high school experience, further reinforcing the tight bonds that are formed and extensive support that is offered to students.

Residential students live within a short walk from town where there are shops, riverfront views, restaurants, a public library, bookstore, cafe and four churches. All students, both day and residential, participate in many community events as volunteers and are encouraged to join the many excursions provided by the residential life department.

Accreditation
Lincoln Academy is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and is a member of the Maine Association of Independent Schools (MAIS), the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), the Independent Schools Association of Northern New England (ISANNE), the College Board, the Secondary School Admission Test Board (SSATB), and the Maine Principals’ Association (MPA).

Academic Facilities
LA has new science laboratories and updated classroom facilities.  There is also a beautiful new dining commons as well as a black box theater, which is home to Lincoln’s award winning theater program.  The Cable-Burns Applied Technology and Engineering Center (ATEC), which opened in 2015, offers approximately 10,000 square feet of classroom space for vocational, science, and technology courses. Facilities include a wood shop, metal lab, design and fabrication lab, computer lab, and auto bay. In addition to clean, open spaces, the new ATEC building boasts brand new equipment, including wood, metal, auto and engine repair tools, robotics equipment, 3D printers, a CNC machine and a new drone. Classes offered here include Robotics, IT, Engineering and Drafting, Auto Maintenance, Metal Sculpture, Anatomy and Physiology, Computer Science and Digital Media and Production.

Athletic Facilities
A brand new baseball field will be completed by the end of 2016, and joins the new William A. Clark turf field in the list of new athletic facilities at Lincoln Academy. A newly restored softball field, tennis courts, gymnasium, weight room and short track round out the facilities that are available to the teams of the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference.

Hall House and Kiah Bayley Hall (Dorms)
Lincoln Academy has two brand new residential halls for boarding students. Hall House is newly renovated for 24 boys and the co-ed Kiah Bayley Hall, newly completed in 2015, houses 65 students. Facilities include double and triple rooms, a large common room with a large projector and screen for gatherings and classes, and small activity rooms in each wing. Offices and an infirmary can be found in Kiah Bayley Hall, and the art and foreign language departments are housed in Hall House.

Lincoln Academy’s residential community is warm, modern and welcoming, and everyone is involved in the life of the school. To help make the student experience here as productive and powerful as possible, the residential staff offer a wide range of opportunities to build knowledge, skills and social values. All students are continually encouraged to reach their goals and have high aspirations. The residential community maintains a clear focus on three core principles: Involvement in the community, Communication and Respect. These three principles inform the activities that are offered to students during and after school.

College Preparation
The Guidance Office is staffed by three guidance counselors and two guidance assistants. This office begins its service to students and parents with the introduction of Lincoln Academy to incoming eighth graders and continues its service through the senior year and students’ transition out of Lincoln Academy to post-secondary education, work, military, or other pursuits. Some of the services available to students through the Guidance Office are:

• Scheduling and planning classes each year
• Meeting with students/parents/teachers regarding academic questions/difficulties
• Maintaining and updating student records
• Classroom education in career and post-secondary education planning
• Individual and group counseling
• Presenting to parents and students information regarding college and future planning
• Organizing parent/teacher meetings for the benefit of students
• Career and college planning, senior interviews, and recommendations for college and scholarships
• Consulting and outside referral when necessary for parents and students
• The Guidance office will broaden the scope of the college planning process this year through the use of the Naviance program.

Language Support
Lincoln Academy offers three levels of ESOL, Essay Writing, Biology, US History and World Civilizations, as well as TOEFL and SAT prep.

Lincoln Academy Ambassador Program
When International students arrive at Lincoln, they are paired with student ambassadors who are familiar with student life and culture, and remain available to the new students throughout the school year as mentors. The Ambassador program helps students adjust to the transition to school and provides a way to ease new students into their surroundings. Ambassadors greet students the day they arrive, accompany them throughout orientation, show them around town and spend the first few weeks helping them navigate classes, lunch and after school activities. The Ambassadors, many of whom are residential students in their second or third years, also reach out to the local community, give tours of campus and communicate with prospective students in the spring, helping to create new connections all over the world. In many cases, the program creates lifelong bonds between day students and boarders. Residential students also learn what it means to live in a small, close and vibrant community and find to their surprise that they are recognized and greeted all over town!

College Articulation Agreement
Students at Lincoln Academy have the opportunity to get a head start on a bachelor’s degree from the University of New England by completing Advanced Placement (AP) Courses. When they participate in this program, they not only receive college credit for AP courses, but also priority consideration for admission and merit scholarships at UNE. Motivated students may be able to enter UNE with sophomore standing, completing their college education in 75% of the time. Successful applicants can major in any program in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Special Academic Programs
Marine Studies and Exploration Certificate Program
Work Based Learning Program
One Act Play Production
Senior Independent Project

Selected Faculty, Student and Programmatic Highlights
Lincolnaires choir sang in a performance of the Mozart Requiem at Merrill Auditorium with the USM School of Music and the Southern Maine Symphony Orchestra.
More than a dozen student musicians qualified for Maine Music All-State Choir, Band, and Orchestra.
LA Debate Team – Maine State Debate Champions – 2015
LA Math Team – 4th in Maine Class B Championship – 2015
LA One Act Theater – Runner up in Maine – 2015, First in Region in 2015, 2016
LA Climate Action Club won the CLYNK recycling challenge four years running, and used the money to improve the efficiency of the LA campus.
Visual Arts students have won statewide recognition for their submissions of 2D art.
Girls Maine Golf State Champion, 2015, 2016
Ceramics faculty – 2014 Maine Arts Commission Fellowship

Clubs and Activities:

Sports Offered:
Fall Sports
Cross Country, Field Hockey, Golf, Boys’ Soccer, Girls’ Soccer
Winter Sports
Boys’ Basketball, Girls’ Basketball, Cheerleading, Indoor Track, Swimming, Wrestling
Spring Sports
Baseball, Boys’ Lacrosse, Girls’ Lacrosse, Softball, Boys’ Tennis, Girls’ Tennis, Track & Field
There is a local football club in Damariscotta during Football season, but it is not affiliated with Lincoln Academy’s sports program.

Student Profile – Thanh Tran ’15, Salutatorian, Vietnam
“I really love this place, which makes me wish I had come here sooner. Because you have embraced me the way you have and made me feel such a part of your lives, I feel like I’ve been here forever… Two years ago, I was just an average kid going to school every day, coming home, and going to school again the next day. But, now my life is not just about academics. Two years ago, my life was a routine, but now I live on a campus with students from fourteen different countries having all sorts of fun with the cultural exchange experience…Indisputably, this has been a life-changing experience that has started a new chapter in my life”.